


Change of Heart

by Triforce_Green



Series: Some Assembly Required [1]
Category: Don't Starve (Video Game)
Genre: Author has mental issues, Author thinks the spiders are cute, For Science!, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Webber's adorable, Wilson's not prepared for this, tragic past
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-24
Updated: 2015-06-22
Packaged: 2018-03-31 22:51:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3996061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Triforce_Green/pseuds/Triforce_Green
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Wilson is dragged through the portal, he's certain he is doomed.  But what he discovers on the other side could change his life for the better, if he can survive long enough to realize it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. What was that?!

His throat ached.

It was the first thing Wilson became aware of as he drifted back to consciousness. Probably due to the screaming. The shadows had not taken him quietly, and his screams of terror had probably echoed for several miles outside his lab in the mountains.

Not that anyone would have been around to hear it. Or would have been inclined to check on the strange man who’s house issued strange lights and noises at all hours in any case. He wasn’t exactly a social type, and anyone who might’ve cared what happened to him had fallen out of his life some time ago.

The second thing he noticed was a shadow falling over him. Funny, he hadn’t quite noticed that he was in the light. It had been dark when he’d thrown that lever. How long had he been out? Where was he now?

He peeked his eyes open to see the source of the shadow. A tall figure stood over him, a look of mock concern over his sharp features. Wilson knew, without having to hear a word, who this man was. Maxwell. The voice over the radio that had offered him a wealth of forbidden knowledge. And promptly doomed him.

“Say, pal, you don’t look so good!” Before Wilson could force a proper retort through his raw throat and out at the devil before him, Maxwell continued. “You’d better find something to eat before night comes!”

With that, he vanished, leaving Wilson there. Seething, aching, and confused, the scientist sat up. Taking in his surroundings, he became even more puzzled. Where was he? He was laying on some dark grass, a few trees nearby. The air smelled very outdoors-y, not completely unlike the area around his home. But this was definitely nowhere he’d ever been before. The proof of this was a large pig, standing on two legs and wearing shorts, wandering nearby. Wilson stared, trying to reason through the evolutionary process that would enable pigs bipedal locomotion. He’d never heard of such a thing.

Truly, this place was foreign to him. He gained more of a shock when he heard the pig holler out in perfect English, lunging at a spider that stood far taller than any arachnid had a right to. _‘Gross…I hate spiders…’_ Wilson stood, turning and heading in the opposite direction. He needed to put distance between himself and that hideous monstrosity. The pig too.

Wherever he was, he resolved to find a way back home. Perhaps if he replicated the machine that brought him here, he could reverse the process? His stomach growled suddenly, reminding him that he had to take care of the most basic necessities first. He sighed and started scrounging. He had a lot of work to do, and he needed to get it done before nightfall. Once he lost the light, he wouldn’t be able to make progress. The last thing he wanted was to stumble on more of those spiders.

**** ****

A week in this world had brought Wilson a great deal of knowledge about it. He was able to study the creatures, the flora and fauna, and came to a startling conclusion. This was no product of nature. The twisted combination of normal things he knew with strange aberrations of nature was like something out of a children’s story…or nightmare in some cases. He still couldn’t get over the spiders, but he’d found that a simple rabbit trap worked effectively for them as well as the little furballs.

He looked down at his arm, where a bandage made of papyrus and honey was covering a large gash. His first encounter with hounds in this world had not gone well. Still, he’d come out alive, and carrying a few of the beasts’ teeth as trophies. Along with an injury that would no doubt leave a scar. He sighed. Well, he’d have a reminder not to accept offers from creepy guys over the radio, at least. Given he was thirty, you’d think he’d already know that one.

Today, he had a mission. He was going to focus on collecting more of the rarer supplies; pig skins, gems, things like that. He dropped his backpack and began to suit up for the trek northeast, where a couple of pig houses stood. He slipped on a log suit of his own creation and picked up a sharpened spear. He made sure to bring some spare supplies for a second spear. There was plenty of food between here and the pig houses, so he’d conserve the space in his pockets reserved for food.

Wilson noticed things were getting easier. Walking all afternoon wasn’t wearing him out as much as it would have a mere week ago, though he was still exhausted at the end of the day. With every passing day, he got better at this. Taking on a pig was going to be dangerous, but he felt more prepared for it than he’d been so far. Besides, that pig skin would make great armor… He forged ahead, picking and munching on a carrot as he went. Within half an hour or so, he came upon the pigs. Only one was close by, which was much better. He took a deep breath, gripped his spear, and charged.

“Go for the eyes!” He called out, mostly as motivation for himself. He slashed at the pig with his spear and quickly moved out of the way of those swinging front legs (arms? Paws? He didn’t know for sure). It was a struggle, and Wilson did take a hit of his own, but soon he had some pig skin and meat. He grinned tiredly. Well, that was good. He’d gotten his supplies and other than a sore arm, he didn’t suffer much. So, he turned and headed south, taking a slightly roundabout route back to his camp. He figured he might find some more seeds. He could use some more, now that he’d gotten a few farm plots built. It would take some time before he could harvest, but not that long. Amazingly, plants seemed to grow at an accelerated rate in this world.

**** ****

Wilson was pretty sure he was lost. He’d found a few nuggets of gold laying around and made note of the cemetery he seemed to stumble across, and had lost his bearing in the fog. He frowned at the prospect of a full night away from his camp. He didn’t want to waste the few logs he was able to carry. He scrounged up a torch and lit it as the sun began to disappear beyond the horizon. Using the light of the torch, he began making progress. He forged ahead, trying to ignore the sounds of scuttling and snarling in the darkness. They weren’t too close. Yet.

He clung to his torch, remembering with fear what happened last time he’d ventured out of the safety of the light. A sounds that chilled his bones…then an attack! He’d scrambled into the light as fast as he could, but he never did figure out what attacked him. He didn’t dare leave the fire behind again. Beyond the glow of his own torch, he caught sight of a flicker of light, like firelight. But there had been no lightning…no way for the forest to have caught on fire. What on earth was going on? He creeped along as silently as he could, hoping his torch would protect him.

Perhaps there was a group of pigs here he’d overlooked? No, as he approached, he recognized it as an ordinary campfire. A campfire…created by someone. Was there actually someone else here?! His heart leapt at the prospect of a companion; someone who could help him! He’d been used to isolation in the mountains, but he was tired of just surviving. He wanted to go home, and no way he could do that if he spent all his time trying to keep from dying. No, he did desperately need someone now. He approached, a strange noise drowning out the distant snarls of the spiders. Was it…sobbing? He frowned, puzzled. Was this person hurt? As he stepped into the clearing, spear at the ready just in case, he dropped his spear and torch in surprise.

What he saw chilled him to the bone.


	2. I Should Keep My Distance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Webber's really not what he seems. Wilson's not sure how to handle that.

The fire cast eerie shadows across the clearing, and it was dwindling by the moment. In the light, however, Wilson could see a figure sitting. It was like nothing the scientist had come to expect in his week here, but perhaps that was his own fault. He was still slow to pick up on things that seemed to defy scientific explanation. The figure was black, covered in a light layer of fur, and facing away from him. The head was like a spider, but the body was surprisingly humanoid, albeit small. Like a kid or something. As if he needed the image of humanoid spider kids to give him another bout of the creeps out here. Despite its monstrous appearance, the creature was making a noise that was less threatening and more pitiful. Listening, Wilson believed it was similar to…sobbing? He needed to get out of here before things got any weirder. He bent down to pick up his fallen torch, which proved to be a mistake. The creature either saw or heard him move and whipped around, cringing.

“Please don’t hurt me!” He wailed. The spider boy spoke English. Wilson was surprised it had language skills at all. He gulped. “I wasn’t going to, I promise…” He assured it, trying to pacify the creature for as long as it took for him to also reach over for his trusty spear. It was staring at him, now, all eight eyes monitoring his every move. It sniffled, and Wilson noticed that one of its arms was hanging limply at its’ side. He looked pretty scruffed up, come to think of it. He’d just closed his hands around his spear and started to back up slowly when the creature winced.

“NO!” Wilson flinched at the exclamation, ready to bolt if the creature came any closer. He hated spiders as it was. But he wasn’t finished.

“Please don’t go! You’re the first person I’ve seen in what feels like forever plus a day!” It was Wilson’s turn to stare. This creature might look so much like a spider, but that…that sounded very human. The creature was lonely. Wilson could relate to that. Certainly, most of his own loneliness had been partly his own fault, but that didn’t make it any less painful. “You’re not a spider, are you?”

The creature sniffled again, wiping a hand across its face. It sounded male, Wilson decided. “I’m a boy. And…we’re a boy and a spider. Why? What’s wrong with spiders?” “Well, I’m not fond of them to begin with. And most of them here have tried to eat me.” “Yuck! Gross! Well…I promise we won’t try and eat you. You’ll stay, won’t you?” He turned those monstrous eyes to Wilson and the genius frowned. This boy…he really couldn’t help but be a bit creeped out. This was still the best chat he’d had in the week since he got here and the month before that back home…wherever that was from here. What could he do?

With a sigh of defeat, he put out his torch and cautiously crept over toward the fire. He put it between himself and the boy-creature, pulling a few pieces of charcoal out of his pocket and dropping them into the fire to boost it back up. Wilson went to speak, only to realize he had no idea how to even address the boy. Spider. BOTH. That was going to get aggravating. He needed to call him something.

“Hey, my name is Wilson. What’s yours?” The creature smiled, looking overjoyed. “Webber! My friends called me Webber!” He explained cheerfully.

He looked over at Wilson joyfully as the scientist spoke the name to himself. Webber…surely a nickname rather than a coincidence. Still pretty weird though. But at least it was a name. “Okay then, Webber. I was trying to get back to my camp, but I suppose I could stay here for the night…” He agreed, albeit reluctantly. He wanted his camp, where he had a straw roll and a crock pot. Still, the poor boy looked so pitiful. Something nagged at him, though.

“Webber? What happened to your arm?”

“A pigman. I don’t know why, but they hate me…”

_‘Probably because you’re a spider…’_ Wilson thought dryly. What he said was “The pigmen aren’t too bright.”

He stared at it for a moment before moving closer. “Hey, let me take a look…” Why he was showing such care to a spider he wasn’t sure, but Webber’s statement from before was nagging at him. _‘I’m a boy.’_ He checked over the arm, watching as Webber winced when he touched it. It wasn’t too swollen, though, and he could still move it. It didn’t appear to be broken. “Looks like a bruise, maybe a mild sprain. It’s a little hard to tell. Here…” He pulled out rope and papyrus and made a makeshift brace. It wasn’t great, but it would hold Webber’s arm in place and let it heal. Webber grinned, thanking him. Then he yawned. “Sorry…I’ve been too scared to sleep for awhile…”

Wilson felt bad for him. Really. “But now that you’re here, I don’t feel scared anymore!” Webber yawned again and it was obvious the boy needed sleep. So when he curled up and nodded off, the scientist wasn’t surprised. He glanced at the torch he’d put out earlier. While Webber was asleep, he’d never know if Wilson slipped off. He could be back at his camp before daylight. He looked over at the sleeping boy-spider again. He hated spiders.

But Webber was a boy.


	3. AHHHHHHH! That Spider Is Huge!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, guys. Last chapter will be up in a few days, promise.

Morning came while Wilson was lost in thought. He’d been trying to decide what to do. Part of him was appalled at the idea of abandoning a child to this wilderness. Another part of him reasoned that the boy would simply be a liability. Then, of course, there was that nagging, whiny voice in him that cringed at the idea of letting a spider anywhere near them. He sighed. Even if he wanted to help Webber, he could barely take care of himself. The smart thing to do was to leave now that the sun was rising. Head back to camp. So why did he feel so rotten as he stood and slipped away?

\- - - - - - - -

He wasn’t paying attention. He had no other excuse. For the last four days, he’d been collecting every item he could, and today he had his eyes on a very nice Koalafant. He was armed with a tentacle spike he’d managed to snatch in the swamps to the west, and he’d used his pig skin to make a helmet. His log armor rounded out the ensemble, and he was certain he’d do fine.

He was so intent on following the tracks that he didn’t spy the spider’s web until he stepped IN it. It was massive too, the nest towering over him. It pulsated as he struggled to get out of the webbing, and a nightmare suddenly came to life. He should have guessed spiders in this world had queens. She blotted out the sun as she came at him, snarling, with several spider warriors at her feet.

He screamed. Running was pretty futile, but every time he cut down a warrior, it seemed like another took its place. And SHE was getting closer. He couldn’t outrun her, tangled up in the webbing as he was. So this was how he was going to die? It felt so wrong, so unfair! He took deep breaths, trying not to hyperventilate. He didn’t want to die, but there seemed to be no way out, even as he fought to get away.

Suddenly, a warrior lunged and sank its fangs into Wilson’s leg, causing him to shriek in agony. It promptly died, but another spider quickly knocked his tentacle spike away. He flailed around, fire spreading in his leg as he fought. He’d fight to the bitter end. Another warrior came close, and he gulped. This was the end for sure. When it lunged and slaughtered the spider that he’d been holding at bay with his arm, he didn’t know quite how to react.

He went to sit up, only to find a pain shooting through his back. “Hey! Wanna play?!” He recognized that voice. He forced himself to sit up despite the pain, gawking at the sight before him. It was little Webber, clad in armor and commanding a small legion of spiders of his own. He was running around the queen herself while the spiders took out her brood. He hacked at her legs as he ran, trying not to get hurt. Wilson reached for his spike, noting the boy was armed with a spear. He couldn’t move without excruciating pain shooting through him, and he was terrified of the condition he might actually be in. How bad was it? He hadn’t noticed it before.

He felt himself losing consciousness. Noo…no, he had to help somehow. Webber came running toward him, still slashing at the Queen. Wilson did the only thing he could think of as he saw the spear break off into her leg; he held the spike up high. “Webber…!” He croaked, shocked at how bad his voice sounded. He was slipping, sliding into the darkness, and so he felt, rather than saw, the spike pulled from his hand.


	4. Poor Little Guy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey look, Wilson's alive! Also, I know Webber's pronouns are confused here. But he does that normally.

Wilson woke to the smell of antiseptic and cooking meat. His mouth watered as his stomach rumbled and he reached up to wipe the drool from his mouth, his hands brushing over the beginnings of a good beard. He groaned. How long had he been unconscious?! And who’d applied antiseptic? He lifted his head, pain shooting through his back. He noticed he was wrapped in spider silk too.

So it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that it was Webber sitting by the fire, roasting a few carrots and morsels. Wilson realized he was at his camp. The boy must’ve found him and brought him back here. He was soothed by the comforting familiar sounds of his science machine and the sight of the chest that held some spare supplies.

He realized he was on a grass mat of some sort. Webber must’ve laid it out for him. The child had come rushing to his rescue, taking on a monster much larger than himself, with an injured arm too. For the sake of a man who’d abandoned him while he was sleeping…

Webber had saved his life. He’d walked away and left a child to fend for himself in this wilderness. Despite the boy’s monstrous appearance, he couldn’t help but wonder; Who was really the monster here?

Webber looked at him and…smiled. “You’re UP!!!” He ran over and crouched next to the wounded scientist, eyes bright and relieved. Since when could he read the emotions in those spider eyes? Wilson gulped. “Webber, you…you saved me.” His voice cracked. He felt like crying. This child was too sweet, and he was a horrible, horrible person.

“Webber, I ditched you.” He confessed sadly.

“We know.” Webber smiled just as sadly. “You were scared.”

“Weren’t you lonely?” Webber clearly didn’t like being alone. Wilson could relate. If only he could stop being a jerk to everyone who got the slightest bit close. Webber nodded. “Yes. My mom always said you’re never lonely if you’re with yourself, but I was still lonely.”

“My mom always said a man who walked away from a child wasn’t a real man.” Wilson muttered bitterly, the words stinging in his mouth.

“Well, I guess we’re both bad at listening to our mothers…” Webber commented.

Wilson couldn’t help but chuckle. “Well, we have something in common then! You know, other than being stuck here.” He wiggled into a more comfortable position as Webber went back to the food, bringing it to share with the ravenous scientist. He mumbled a thank you in between bites, trying not to scarf it too fast. He’d only hurt himself. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, sighing, as he finished.

Webber grinned. “You were out for three days!” He said, “We were worried!”

“Sorry. Uh…Webber?” He had to know. “Why did you save me?”

“Because you stayed until we fell asleep.”

“What?”

“For a few minutes, I wasn’t lonely. Even though you were scared of us, you stayed until we went to sleep.”

Wilson choked back a sob. He’d abandoned the boy, and Webber was just grateful for any little company at all that he was willing to overlook it. He had to repay him for this. He OWED the child his life. “I’m going to figure out how to get back home. Do you want to come too?” The boy’s eyes lit up. “YES! But…” He trailed off, looking miserable.

“Webber?”

“If mom sees me like this, she’ll probably squish us…” He said softly, his voice barely above a whisper. Wilson wasn’t about to let that stop him. “Then I’ll find a way to get you out of that spider! You’ll see your mom again!” Webber’s eyes went wide, all eight of them. “Really…?” Wilson nodded. “Definitely. After all, I’m one heck of a scientist.” He made a vow. He’d get Webber home, back into the arms of his mother. He owed the kid that much.

**Author's Note:**

> My first fic in this series. Or any series, really. Let me know what you think, and how I can improve! This isn't beta'd, so any mistakes are completely my own.


End file.
